Church internal controls are those processes and procedures, standard in the business world, that are used to ensure the proper handling of funds. In my blog post, Fraud Alert: 5 Tips to Protect Church Collections From Theft, I discussed some simple ways churches can protect against fraud.
Church internal controls are a form of checks and balances with church finances. If one person has sole responsibility for all financial tasks, there is no protection of the person (in the case of suspected fraud) or the parish, against claims of fraud. When internal controls (checks and balances) are in place, no one person or office handles all financial matters.
Solid church internal controls builds a culture of trust, collaboration and shared accountability!
Building on this theme to help churches guard against fraud, I wanted to share some tips that Dr. Chuck Zech, my colleague at Villanova University and co-author of our book, Parish Finance, shared in a recent article in US Catholic Magazine: 5 essential practices to get your parish finances in order. It is a resourceful article that summarizes easy-to-implement tips for adopting an open, transparent, and accountable financial process to protect against fraud and build trust.